Commentary: Lakers’ schizophrenic week ends on a high note, but consistency remains elusive

Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers is all smiles after making a free throw late in the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during their NBA matchup at Staples Center in Los Angeles on March 9, 2014. The Lakers defeated the Thunder 114-110. AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

If the past week was as schizophrenically challenged for you as it was the Lakers, it might be time to dig into your employee benefits packet to see how much psychiatric coverage is available.

The Lakers’ season is beyond the help of a doctor — general practice or otherwise — but the dichotomy of the last seven days shows their problems might be more mental than originally thought.

And at the risk of posing a question for which the correct answer qualifies the supplier savvy enough to shed light on matters far more complex than basketball, it’s worth wondering how the Lakers can wrap impressive wins over the Portland Trailblazers and Oklahoma City Thunder around losses to the Clippers, New Orleans Hornets and Denver Nuggets.

The Clippers setback being a 48-point beatdown so savage it ranks as the biggest loss in franchise history.

To repeat, how can the Lakers climb so high yet fall so far in the span of seven days?

If you have any sense at all, you probably just let the question slide.

Not just because doing so would make his head explode — mostly from frustration.

It’s because the answer is so mind-numbingly obvious, it’s almost embarrassing the Lakers haven’t consistently grasped it yet.

For things to work out for the undermanned Lakers — and by working out, we mean playing competitive basketball not always reflected in wins or losses — there must be consistent ball movement in which everyone is involved.

The ball movement leads to better shot attempts.

The sense of sharing results in better individual efforts on defense, with everyone now having a tangible effect on the offensive production and outcome.

The increased defensive effort generally leads to more competitive games, unlike Thursday’s blowout against the Clippers in which a selfish attitude offensively resulted in apathy defensively, which led to a historically bad loss.

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Simple, right?

This isn’t about wins or losses, mind you.

The Lakers have too steep a talent decline to win enough to be a legitimate contender.

It’s about avoiding epically embarrassing falls like they experienced against the Clippers.

“Sometimes you play the right way and you lose,” Gasol said. “But at least, if we continue to give ourselves a chance, that should be our goal in every single game going to the end of the season.”

The Lakers did that on Sunday against the Thunder, moving the ball willingly and efficiently enough to collect 31 assists and create sufficient shot attempts for six different players.

The sense of community offensively — which helped Jodie Meeks collect a career-high 42 points — had a dramatic influence defensively, with the Lakers as active and tenacious as they’ve been all year.

Oklahoma City is among the best offenses in the NBA, yet the Thunder managed just 42 percent shooting while being continually harassed by the hustling Lakers.

“This sounds crazy, but I think sharing the basketball on one end transferred to the other end,” said Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni.

This wasn’t groundbreaking of course.

It’s Basketball 101.

“If you have that, and guys feel like they’re part of the team and everybody is pulling in the same direction, then you can find that energy on defense,” D’Antoni said. “When you’re not happy with your teammates, it shows up on the defensive end.”

The complexity is uncovering reasons why the Lakers don’t consistently operate like they did Sunday against the Thunder or the previous Sunday against the Trailblazers.

“We’ve shown twice this week we can compete with any team in this league,” said point guard Kendall Marshall. “If we can play this way every single game, it can be a lot of fun.”

Or, as D’Antoni pondered: “OK, now we’ve done it two out of five. Can we do it four out of five? Can we do it consistently?”

The answer should be yes.

But the three losses in between the two big wins reveals otherwise.

Not so much the results, but the manner in which they lost.

“The best teams in this league, they don’t have those big ups and downs,” Marshall said. “If we want to be a better team, we have to play more consistently.”

The Lakers are nowhere close to being one of the better teams in the NBA.

But they aren’t far off from being respectable.

The reason for the chasm is fairly obvious.

Applying the answer consistently enough to close it remains an issue.

“We’re trying to do better,” Gasol sighed. “Because it’s just going to feel better as a team, no matter if we win or lose.”

Gasol smiled wistfully.

“So we continue to fight,” he said. “Some days are going to work out better than others. But today was a good day.”